Kel's Summer
by StormMagic
Summary: Kel, her friends and mysterious assassins.
1. Kel's Summer; The Visitor. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Tamora Pierce owns Kel, Neal, Joren and Tortall etc. So all the credit is hers. The storyline is mine.  
* * *  
NOTE: this is my first fanfic so please rate it kindly. Constructive criticism is welcome. This is written after Kel has finished her time as a page.  
  
Kel's Summer: The Visitor. Part 1.  
  
"Wake up Kel!" Neal exclaimed, "The meat's burning!" He ripped it off the spit and dropped it in a bucket.  
Keladry of Mindelan sighed, how could she concentrate when Neal was around? He was so cute. "I never was good at cooking," she said ruefully as she picked up the burnt meat. She scraped off the blackened crust "Jump will eat it, he'd eat anything."  
"I'll make a cook of you this summer," Neal said loftily "I am the best teacher."  
Merric snorted, "You're not much better than Cleon."  
"I'd like to see you do better," Neal sniffed.  
Cleon was daydreaming "Whose idea was this camping trip? I don't normally do this kind of work unless the Stump makes me."  
"Who always comes up with these mad ideas?"  
They all looked at Neal, he was tutting over the state of the meat.  
"The sun's setting!" Owen exclaimed.  
"Usually does," Neal replied.  
Kel smiled to herself, she'd missed this kind of banter over the summer, it had been a good idea of Neal's that they should all get together and exercise so that the return to training would not come as such a shock. And it would be fun.  
In only two weeks time Kel would start her life as a squire, the thought still warmed Kel even though she was resigned to the fact that she wouldn't get a knight-master.  
  
Faleron of King's Reach interrupted her thoughts by saying "Look who's coming!"   
Kel looked and saw a familiar figure limping towards them.  
"Well if it isn't our old friend, Joren," Neal drawled.  
Kel muttered, "What's he doing here at Queenscove?"  
Joren didn't speak as he hobbled closer. His clothes were torn and bloody. His eyes were strangely hollow and dark. He looked about as if he didn't know any of them, then he focused on Kel "Keladry…" He croaked and then collapsed.  
  
For a moment no one could move, Neal moved towards Joren "What's happened to him?" He looked concerned, Neal pressed a finger to a dark bruise on Joren's cheek, and it vanished almost immediately. Closing his eyes, Neal held a hand over Joren and his emerald-green Gift flowed.  
Joren woke; he looked around desperately "Keladry?"  
"I'm here. What is it you want to say?" She asked gently, the bully who had bothered her while she was a page now looked as vulnerable as a kitten.  
He sat up too quickly and clutched at his head "Kel, I need your help," he rasped.  
To be continued…  
  
What do you think? What should happen next? I hope this wasn't too short or too long.  



	2. Kel's Summer: The mystery. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: All characters are Tamora Pierces apart from those that are mine so she gets all the credit.  
  
This is set after Kel has finished her page training but before she becomes a squire.  
Kel's Summer: The mystery. Chapter 2  
  
Kel eyed Joren's unconscious body, she leaned forwards and sniffed "Well he isn't drunk."  
Neal was swiftly healing the visible bruises on Joren's face.  
"No, with Joren it would be something worse," Cleon commented.  
Faleron coughed loudly "I heard some rumours about him last year…"  
"He'll tell us what's wrong. He wanted Kel's help didn't he?" Neal said grimly "Now I'm going to try something."  
He pressed a hand to Joren's chest and thrust his green Gift into Joren. The others watched in fascination.  
Suddenly Neal's handsome face twisted in pain and he gasped. Some silvery light blasted out of Joren and knocked them all to the ground.  
  
Kel crawled through thick smoke to Neal. He lay unconscious beside Joren, she shook him "Neal!"  
Merric squeezed her shoulder "Calm down Kel, he's alive."  
She splashed cold water on Neal and he responded with "Mmph?"  
"Wake up."  
He opened one green eye "Wasn' wha' I expected," he mumbled.  
"What ,by Mithros, did you expect?!" Kel shouted.  
"You're mad, you must be worried."  
Kel glared.  
"What went wrong?" Prosper interrupted, seeing Kel's murderous look.  
Neal sat up, blinking "It was a repelling AND attacking spell, meaning it attacks anyone who tries to heal the victim. In this case I tried to heal Joren and wasn't prepared for the backlash."  
He staggered away and vomited in the bushes. When he returned he proposed hoarsely "We'll just have to search Joren for clues. Any volunteers?"  
They all winced.  
In the end they agreed to draw straws. Cleon grumbled about getting the short straw, Kel suspected that Neal had rigged it from the way he was smiling.  
She wiped her sweating hands on her tunic, Neal had given her a shock and she hadn't quite recovered. Why did Neal have to be so clumsy sometimes? As well as being unbearably georgeous? She sighed.  
  
"Kel!"  
Cleon grinned, "I thought you might know what this is." He handed her a square of parchment, neatly trimmed with a black symbol on it. Kel had a sinking feeling as she looked at it.  
  
"Kel? What's wrong?" Faleron frowned.  
Be as stone, she reminded herself. "The League of Twelve Knives," She explained shakily "Known as the Takri. They are the most notorious group of assassins the Yamani Isles. Joren wouldn't be carrying one of these unless he was working for them or was a client."  
The exchanged glances "What would Joren be doing hiring an assassin?" Merric asked, voicing their unspoken question.  



	3. Kel's Summer; Nokomis. Chapter 3.

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Tamora Pierce but the Takri, Chen and Nokomis are mine.  
  
AN: I hope this is okay. I've had some new ideas but I'll just have to see if you like them.  
First I want to jump to the assassin Nokomis to reveal a little about the Twelve Knives before we get to Kel. Everything in this chapter is happening at the same time. I mean in the Yamani Isles and in Tortall.  
  
Kel's Summer; Nokomis, part3  
The warm summer breeze stirred the humid air. The leader of the Fourth Knife stood waiting in the darkening jungle with a sweat - glazed face. He was late. The leader was flanked by three of the Takri, their faces hidden beneath black hoods.  
No one broke the silence. A nearby willow rustled gently. The birds sang and flapped in its branches. Like a ghost a solitary figure glided from beneath the willow, bowing in greeting "Nokomis."  
Nokomis bowed "Chen."  
"Right and left," Chen remarked, flatly. A calm warning.  
  
In one smooth movement, Nokomis removed two knives from their hiding places and stabbed the two attacking Takri. The third man gave a croak of terror and fled into the undergrowth, his hood falling back to reveal his face.  
  
"He will die soon," Chen said coolly, his face dark beneath the hood "You should not have brought them, Fourth Knife." His voice was so emotionless that anyone who didn't know him would miss the rebuke. He was a perfect Yamani.  
Nokomis bowed again "I am in your debt, First Knife."  
  
The two assassins paused to check their surroundings.  
"I have an assignment for you Fourth Knife."  
"Oh?" Nokomis was an inexperienced assassin, to be entrusted an individual assignment was a great honour, it was hard to hide excitement.  
"You are to travel to Tortall, young one. Your assignment is there." He held out some encoded scrolls "Learn these and destroy them, Nokomis, work according to our code."  
"As ever."  
Nodding in silent agreement, they parted. There was nothing more to be said.  
Nokomis recalled the streets of Corus and smiled; it would be good to visit the country again.  
The two Takri bodies were thrown into the swamp and Nokomis hid all evidence of them. It paid to be careful.  
  
AN; Back to Kel.  
  
Kel had trouble staying awake, the day's riding had tired her and she had stomach cramps. It was hard to change her linen bandages without attracting the attention of the boys. She yawned and gave herself a mental shake, she had to stay awake.  
Neal fell out of his tent "Couldn't sleep." He murmered, "Cleon kicked me and I thought his sleeptalking was bad enough."  
"What does he say?"  
"Hmm?"  
"What does he say when he's sleeptalking?"  
Neal looked shifty "Oh, nothing much."  
"Neal!"  
He smirked "I promised not to tell anyone." Neal could be as stubborn as her when he wanted to be.  
"Neal, could I … ask you something?" It was the perfect time to tell him how she felt, they were alone because Faleron had gone to get a pan from the supply tent.  
"Ask away."  
Kel blushed "Well I, err - I mean - No - I think-"  
Faleron returned holding a pan "Soup anyone?"  
"No," Kel said Faleron, "Neal, forget what I said."  
"I need to go," Faleron said suddenly.  
"I'm going too," Neal added.  
AN; Neal and Faleron are NOT gay - just afraid of what might be lurking in the dark.   
  
Kel suddenly felt very alone sitting by the fire, she put more wood on it and sat uneasily.  
A heavy thudding noise caught her attention.  
"Who's there?" She challenged.  
Peachblossom plodded towards her. Kel was astonished as she had left Peachblossom tied to a nearby tree. The horse snorted, shaking his head. Kel noticed the leadrope in his mouth.  
"Did you eat through this?" She asked, looking at the rope, examining the end. It was a clean cut, it wasn't cut by Peachblossom's teeth. Kel stared at it suspiciously "What the-"  
  
Then she heard a yell.  
She drew her sword and tried to see where the noise had come from. Arms flung around her waist from her left and she was knocked to the ground.  
  
Her attacker was a boy of about nine, but he was armed with a knife.  
"Wake up! We're being attacked!" Kel shouted, seizing the boy's knife hand. He broke free and darted back. More men appeared, bandits, sturdy and well-built. She guessed that they'd planned to kill herself and her friends and take their possessions.  
One man screamed as Peachblossom bit him and Jump locked his jaws on the man's ankle. He desperately tried to pry their mouths open.  
  
Neal and Faleron attacked from the other side of the group. Kel found Cleon, Esmond, Seaver and Merric beside her, in various disheveled states. All of them looked confused.  
"Charge!" Kel ordered and they plunged into the fight.  
The fight was worse than any of the practice fights Kel had ever been in. Movements were hard to see in the dark and Kel was lost in the midst of the struggling crowd. She lost her sword and fell back on her yamani training, hurling her attackers through the air.  
  
A hush fell and Kel realised that they were alone again. She cleared her throat "Is anyone hurt?" She rasped.  
Seaver revealed a gash on his shoulder and went to Neal.  
Neal swayed on his feet as he tried to heal it "Trying to heal Joren drained me of a lot of power. I can only heal it partially."  
"Don't overreach yourself," Kel reminded him.  
"What's happening? Who are you?!"  
They all turned at Joren's outburst. He was awake and bedraggled with an expression of fearful confusion.  
"Mithros! He's lost his memory!" Neal exclaimed.   
  
  
How's that? What should happen next? I may not be able to update this for a while as I'm going to be quite busy.  



	4. Kel's Summer: Back to Corus. Chapter 4.

Kel's Summer: Part Four; Back to Corus.  
DISCLAIMER: Tamora Pierce invented Tortall and all of the marvelous characters apart from the ones that are mine.  
  
AN: Kel and co return to Tortall. I think that this episode will be a bit different but oh well. I finally managed to write a longer one. I wrote this in my limited freetime.  
I would appreciate some ideas for the story, put them on a review or email me at ormemr@aol.com. I hope you enjoy this.  
  
In the morning, Kel found that three of the horses had been taken despite their efforts. She was performing her morning exercises when Cleon stumbled out of his tent, he groaned "You're up already? Don't you sleep my glorious rose?"  
Kel suppressed a laugh, Cleon hated mornings but noticed that this he was awake before the others. "I had enough sleep. Did I hear you sleep-talking last night?" She teased.  
Cleon's cheeks flushed with colour and a look of panic and irritation appeared on his face. "What's Neal been telling you?"  
"Nothing much."  
He sighed heavily "It doesn't matter. What are we going to do about Joren?"  
"I like him now he doesn't remember," Kel said breezily as she prepared some porridge.  
"I don't mean that. I mean we need to warn the Scanran Ambassador in Corus and Joren's hurt, he'll slow us down. We need to go as soon as possible, Bright-eyed star."  
"Maybe we can leave Joren at the castle, we could ask Neal when he wakes up.  
Cleon gave a wry smile "I think that Neal will sleep for a while yet."  
Kel thought fast "I'll sort the horses and we'll need to tell people about the bandits. We need to get to Corus to alert this Thoki, but we don't even know what he looks like or who the assassins are."  
"How is the Takri organized?" Cleon wanted to know.  
"It's divided first into Leagues, the League of the First Knife, the League of the Fifth Knife and so on. Each of these has a secret commander. Then it's divisions or Leagues or something. Anyway, the commanders are the best of the best and the First Knife Commander is the overall leader. They also deal in smuggling and thieves." She shrugged "Neal probably knows more about it than I do."  
"How do they judge who is the best?"  
"Shang fighting, but they rarely fight to the death, only to become First Knife." Kel always felt queasy at that thought.  
The others stirred slowly, Joren was the last to get up.  
"We could brainwash him," Faleron suggested hopefully "Maybe even turn him into a nice person."  
This suggestion was popular but they reluctantly agreed to leave Joren behind and travel back Corus.   
A week later they arrived in the capital.  
  
The Princes stared towards the nearing land. She leaned on the rail and sighed wearily. Her feelings were mixed; she longed to see this strange land but was angry that she was being forced to marry it's Prince.  
Her companion, Chika, understood the sigh "Tortall is very different from the Yamani Isles, Hiroko."  
"Is it always this cold?" Hiroko demanded, but she didn't expect Chika to know. Chika was a Tortallan merchant's daughter, raised in the Yamani Isles. Chika looked almost like a Yamani herself, with her dark hair and tanned skin. But her eyes were different."  
"It isn't always this bad in the summer." Chika smiled, Hiroko knew no other person who smiled.  
Curiousity rose out of her resentment "What is Prince Roald like?"  
"Nice enough, he's training to be a knight," Chika replied.  
Hiroko thought for a moment "And they expect me just to agree to marry? Just like that?"  
"It'll be alright, you may even love him. But while you're here why don't you just enjoy it?" Chika said gently.  
Hiroko was still unsatisfied, she stared out at the city, tinted yellow by the evening sun "Why not."  
  
Kel brushed her hair for the fifth time that evening and glanced at the scarlet dress "I can't wear that. I feel like such a Lump." She muttered.  
Lalassa laughed "My Lady, you look wonderful, stop worrying. Do you want your face painted?"  
"What?" Kel said, blinking.  
"Make up." Lalassa said patiently "I can put your hair up and paint your face to make you look like a Lady."  
Kel sat down and let Lalassa pin up her hair. Then Lalassa painted her eyes and lips "Look."  
Lalassa had done the make up well; a pale blue on her eyelids made her brown eyes shimmer and her lips were a dark, glossy red.  
"Thank you, but what will people think?"  
"Don't worry! You look fine," Lalassa reassured her "Now hurry, there's only a few minutes before the Princess arrives."  
  
Kel scurried towards the Great Hall as fast as her dress would allow. This year's Summer Solstice festivities were politically important with visiting nobles from Scanra, Galla and the Yamani Isles. A small group from Carthak had arrived earlier in the week and nobles who normally stayed away from court were there. Everyone was expecting the announcement of Prince Roald's engagement to Princess Hiroko. Kel planned to keep her eyes open for the Duke of Scholla and anyone who could be an assassin, she had visited the Scanran Embassy as soon as she had arrived in Corus, but they were turned away by the officials there.  
  
"Kel!" She turned to see Roald, he looked unhappy "Do I look smart enough?"  
She reached out and squeezed his hand "Perfect. Are you alright?"  
He frowned "No but I'll be okay." He had a bitterness that Kel hadn't heard in his voice before. A moment later he said vaguely "You look nice."  
Kel wished that she could reassure him "It'll be alright."  
He looked unconvinced. They walked in silence to the Great Hall. The hall was beautiful, the walls were hung with garlands of flowers and the guests wore bright clothing.  
"Prince Roald and Squire Keladry of Mindelan." The herald announced. Heads turned and Kel blushed, she wished that she hadn't entered with Roald.  
She spotted Neal and felt her heartbeat quicken, he looked georgeous in dark green.  
Her friends joined her. "I'm glad we don't have to serve anymore," Neal commented with a grin "It's nice to see other people struggling for a change."  
Kel agreed "Have you seen anything yet?"  
"This feast hasn't really started yet," He glanced around "None of the foreign delegations are here yet. I like your dress by the way, it suits you."  
Kel tried not to blush and caught Faleron's eye, he looked at her and Neal with an amused smile. He knows, Kel realized. She glared at him but he continued to beam cheerfully.  
  
When the Yamani Party arrived, Kel spotted Princess Hiroko, dressed in an elegant green silk robe. She was beautiful by Tortallan and Yamani standards with dark eyes and full red lips. She approached the King and Queen to be formally introduced.  
Kel was surprised to find herself seated at the Yamani Table, she guessed that Master Oakbridge was behind it. She was annoyed that she couldn't sit with her friends and decided to sit quietly.  
"Why do they allow women to fight beside men here?" One young man protested in Yamani "Women would distract men and they are too weak to survive in battle."  
  
Kel was unable to hide her anger "Would you be referring to the Lioness or her majesty?" She asked, her face still as a mask. Only a fool would insult the Queen on such an occasion, he was making a big mistake.  
"No, not the Queen, but the Lioness and the girl squire? Have they no virtue?" He looked at her expectantly, any normal Tortallan Lady would probably nod and agree with him.  
"We do, both of us." Kel said, struggling to keep the edge out of her voice and her face disciplined.  
The young man's expression showed brief panic as he exchanged glances with a man who seemed to be some kind of teacher, it was clear that he was in trouble. He switched to Tortallan manners and offered her a small, polite smile "I am truly sorry. I spoke of a matter of which I am ignorant."  
"You're the girl knight!" Blurted a girl who was clearly Tortallan, she spoke with a light Northern accent. She calmed down and introduced herself as Chika.   
Kel chatted to Chika for a while and later the young man joined in, introducing himself as Han, the Shang Wolf.  
Despite their company, Kel found the banquet tedious and almost wished that she was serving.  
The King stood, clearing his throat. The chatter died down.  
"I would like to announce a joyous event, the engagement of my son, Prince Roald, to Princess Hiroko of the Yamani Isles."  
Kel's eyes flickered to Roald's face. He was pale. Before anyone could stop him he ran out.  
Kel found herself standing, she knew where he would be going.   



End file.
